Chapter 34: Ability Application

"I feel that there shouldn’t be too many Giant Vampire Bats inside, probably only about a dozen. Maybe we can just charge in and kill them."

Everyone was no longer surprised by Raine’s ability to pinpoint the vampire bat cave, but they were quite curious when Raine mentioned there were only about a dozen bats inside.

"Huh? Not that many?"

"Raine, how did you figure that out?" Fabian asked suspiciously.

As a Rogue Apprentice himself, he couldn’t fathom achieving such a feat.

"Just intuition." Raine didn’t explain further.

After all, if he said he could smell the subtle differences in the residual scents of different vampire bats in the air and estimate the number of Giant Vampire Bats from that, everyone would definitely think he was spouting nonsense.

This...

Raine’s words left everyone speechless for a moment.

Chris and Fabian exchanged glances, shrugged, unsure of what to say.

After all, Raine was a Mage Apprentice, and though this explanation was a bit... far-fetched...

It was still barely acceptable.

"To ensure nothing is missed, we suggest that the four of us go in, then pin a net at the cave entrance. Captain, you stay down there, and if any Giant Vampire Bats escape, it’s up to you to take them down."

"Alright, if there are only a dozen or so, it should be safe for you to go in."

"Still, the number of Giant Vampire Bats... Raine, are you sure?" Reya couldn’t help but ask again.

As the team leader, she had to be responsible for all team members, including Raine.

"I’m 90% sure."

"Alright then, we’ll go with Raine’s suggestion." After a brief thought, Reya nodded in agreement.

"Okay."

Soon, Raine and the others began exploring inside the cave.

"Raine, are you sure you don’t need a torch?" Grande, who was beside Raine at the front, asked quietly.

"No need, the light from your torches is enough for me. Besides, not having a torch frees up my hands."

"Uh... okay."

In fact, if it were any other member of the team leading the way, they would probably light a torch themselves.

Since if the torch is in the back, the light would cast the leader’s shadow long in front and swing with each step, which would quite affect visibility.

But this wasn’t an issue for Raine.

Under low light vision, the dimness filled with shadows was precisely the brightness range in which Raine’s vision was relatively clear.

After walking for several dozen meters, the stench in Raine’s perception grew stronger, and the others also started noticing fresh bat droppings underfoot every now and then.

If Chris and the others still harbored some doubts about Raine’s judgment earlier, at this moment, those last doubts vanished.

"Tsk tsk, Raine, your nose is incredible, even better than... oops!" Chris cut himself off as he realized his comparison was inappropriate.

"Yeah, I’ve only heard that Bear Goblins or Jackal Wolfmen have such keen senses of smell," whispered Fabian from the back.

"Oh, right, and Wild Boar People’s sense of smell is also very sharp."

Raine was momentarily stunned, wanting to say something, but then he raised his eyebrows and looked forward.

The others noticed Raine had stopped walking and did the same, following his gaze.

"We’re here, just ahead," Raine pointed forward and took two more steps.

"Is there?" Chris questioned, looking at the still dark area in front.

"Move the torches to the back of the group, and you’ll see."

As the front area dimmed, a spacious cave hall, over ten meters high, appeared before them.

Luminescent microorganisms and moss around the cave emitted a faint glow.

"Wow, it’s actually a cave, too bad the captain didn’t come in," Fabian whispered.

"Where are the Giant Vampire Bats?"

"There," Raine pointed to the top of the cave on their right.

In the low-light environment, Raine had already spotted the group of Giant Vampire Bats hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"What do we do next?" Chris asked, taking the initiative.

In reality, he was the one with experience in killing Giant Vampire Bats, but having witnessed Raine’s ’magic,’ he couldn’t help but defer to Raine.

"My suggestion is that we stay here and use the blood of a rabbit to lure them over," Raine indicated the narrow tunnel entrance.

In the narrow tunnel they just entered, two Shield Bearers could almost completely block the passage.

And considering the wing span of the Giant Vampire Bats, they would likely only be able to fly in one or two at a time.

This way, their numerical advantage would be rendered meaningless.

Even if any slip past, Chris and Fabian behind Raine and Grande could quickly take them down.

After all, the Giant Vampire Bats were not particularly strong individually; their main damage came from their venomous fangs and claws.

But against Raine, clad in chain armor, wielding a cross-shaped kite shield and wearing a horned helmet, they could hardly inflict any harm.

The group exchanged looks, quickly understanding Raine’s plan.

"Great idea!"

"Alright!"

"No objections."

"Chris, I’m worried about your hand, let me go in front." Grande, who hadn’t said much, suddenly interjected.

Then, without waiting for Chris’s consent, he squeezed Chris to the back.

This left Raine and Grande at the front, with Chris and Fabian behind them.

"Hey, hey, Grande you..." Chris said, shaking his head with a wry smile, realizing this was Grande’s concern — ’worried his left hand injury wasn’t healed.’

"Let’s get started!" Raine also smiled slightly and said.

Fabian nodded, immediately retrieved a live rabbit from his bag, and with a flick of his dagger, blood sprayed from the rabbit’s neck, its legs kicking wildly before it gradually weakened.

Fabian then placed the still bleeding rabbit at the back of the group.

Within less than two minutes,

several Giant Vampire Bats, previously asleep, opened their eyes irritably, hissing and stretching their huge wings.

Soon, several Giant Vampire Bats flew down, following the scent of blood, diving toward the passageway where Raine stood.

Even though they are nocturnal creatures, faced with the allure of fresh blood delivered right to them, they couldn’t resist.

The leading Giant Vampire Bat shrieked, its over-two-meter wingspan spread wide, gliding towards the passage where Raine and the others stood.

As it reached the narrow tunnel entrance, it suddenly made a 90-degree turn, switching from gliding to vertical flight.

This made Raine’s pupils instantly contract, his grip on the kite shield and warhammer tightening.

At the same time, he realized why the passage entrance was so long vertically yet not wide horizontally, but the Giant Vampire Bats could still come and go freely.